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By Osman Hassan Associated Press Writer
MOGADISHU,
Somalia –– Cholera has killed as many as 25 people
in southern Somalia in two days, and health officials said
Saturday they fear the waterborne disease could spread.
Officials
said more than 80 people have been hospitalized in the town
of Adaleh and in six surrounding villages. Adaleh is about
140 miles northeast of Mogadishu.
Ali
Omar Mohamed, an elder in the worst affected village, Harur
Hajji Ali, said 15 people have died of cholera since Friday,
including four on Saturday.
Speaking
by radio, he added that the bodies of 10 camel herders,
also apparently victims of cholera, had been brought to
his village from outlying areas.
Health
authorities expressed concern over the intensity of the
disease and the large area that appears to be affected.
Poor roads and a lack of vehicles has made it difficult
for the sick to reach medical facilities.
Local
aid workers and the Spanish branch of Doctors without Borders
have begun trying to contain the disease. Water purification
operations and public awareness programs have already begun
in some villages
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